1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a container system for film processing chemicals and, more particularly, to an improved container and a carrier-container combination in which film developer chemicals can be dispensed only into a developer processing mechanism and film fixer chemicals can be dispensed only into a fixer processing mechanism.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Reference is made to the Mixer Patent for a detailed explanation of the difficulties associated with mixing film processing chemicals and for a technique which overcomes these difficulties. In that patent, an improved technique for expeditiously mixing film processing chemicals is disclosed wherein a plurality of bottles, each of a different size and containing a different film processing chemical, are disposed within a carrier body. The bottles include openings which are accessible through a portion of the carrier body so that the bottles may be opened by the film processing machinery.
The carriers conveniently protect the bottles and permit the bottles to be easily stored and transported as well as dispensed. Because the bottles contain a premeasured quantity of film processing chemicals in the proper strength, operator error is eliminated and repeatable, accurately proportioned mixtures of film processing chemicals are obtained. This makes mixing film processing chemicals much easier than before, and smaller batches of chemical mixtures can be conveniently prepared on a more frequent basis, if need be. In turn, it is easier to maintain fresh film processing chemicals so the quality of the resultant film product consistently is higher.
Although this technique is highly effective, it has certain shortcomings. Because different quantities of film processing chemicals are required, the bottles needed to house the chemicals must be of different sizes. It is expected that cartons containing quantities of the different-sized bottles will be stored by the operator for individual replenishment into the carriers. It is possible that one of the bottles could be overlooked during a carrier reloading operation and an improper mixture of film processing chemicals then could be delivered to the film processing machinery. Even though such an improper mixture of chemicals is unlikely, it still is a possibility and, accordingly, the system is not completely fool-proof.
An additional concern is that when the bottles are disposed within a carrier, either different-sized containers are required to hold the bottles in place or a cover included with the carrier must include structure, such as stepped projections, to retain the bottles securely in proper position for use. The overall size of the carrier is somewhat bulky considering the quantity of film processing chemicals contained within the carrier.